The Australian telecommunication industry is eyeing a huge makeover on September 30, 2019 with the imminent ISDN shutdown. However, despite the chaos in the past, there is too much stillness lurking around the subject now considering its impact on the commercial connectivity.
The disconnection of ISDN services will set off soon and Telstra is doing all it can to provide alternative solutions. The Australian telecommunication giant has already stopped selling its products such as ISDN2, ISDN2 Enhanced, ISDN 10/20/30, DDS Fastway, Megalink, Frame Relay products from June 30, 2018. This step was taken by the company to encourage users to look for alternative options ahead of the shutdown.
“As part of the NBN rollout, copper ISDN services are being disconnected from September 30th, 2019. Remaining customers will be disconnected in line with the NBN rollout schedule. For customers using ISDN on Telstra Fibre, they will be transitioned onto alternative products from 2022,” a Telstra spokesperson said in an interview to the media.
However, the situation does not look in favour of telco providers and RSPs who were by far dependent on ISDN connections for supplying businesses. They will have to look for alternative solutions to stay in the game.
Why is ISDN retiring?
Launched by British Telecom (BT) in the year 1986, the entire ISDN infrastructure has been upgraded many times. However, its network remained pretty much the same over the years.
BT has invested a lot in VoIP lately. Relying on the legacy of ISDN does not make sense when advanced technologies such as VoIP can better fulfill the demands of businesses in the future.
According to Chris Jacko, General Manager—FaktorTel at Over the Wire, “The ability to have a backup is something that businesses just don’t have with ISDN.”
How to Prepare for ISDN Shutdown
Businesses dependant on ISDN will have to look for alternatives soon after September 2019. So it is already time to research and adopt advanced and cost-effective options.
There are two best ways to prepare for ISDN shutdown:
1. SIP Channel
Session Initiation Protocol (SIP) is a next-generation technology to make telephone calls over the Internet. In other words, it is a virtual telecommunication line that can connect to your telephone system in the office and travel via the internet allowing users to make calls. SIP channel is cost-effective and easy to set up as compared to ISDN networks. Other key benefits
of SIP are scalability, quick provisioning, and futureproofing. One of the best advantages with SIP is that it gives you the power to increase and decrease the number of connections as per business requirements.
2. VoIP
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) is an integrated technology, which allows people to make voice calls over the Internet. In other words, it carries voice traffic over the internet connection. The entire VoIP system can be hosted within an office or from the cloud. And the cloud is hot in town as it does not require any kind of maintenance from your end.
VoIP has many cost-savings benefits. According to a 2017 report, UK businesses saved between 60-80%. It is simple and easy to control.
The complete ISDN shutdown is likely to happen in 2025. However, nothing is confirmed yet as the complete shutdown is dependent on BT’s UK-wide fibre roll-out. It is important to stay prepared though.